Young people all over the world looked to them not just as successful tech entrepreneurs, but as living proof that love and a sense of purpose could, quite literally, rise from the ashes. Sophia flourished, becoming a leading medical doctor and co-founding a health-tech startup with her husband, Obinna.
Their daughter, Amarachi, became the youngest published author in West Africa, penning a series of children’s books that were inspired by her grandparents’ amazing love story. And Williams, always the dreamer and builder, created an educational app that reached rural communities all across Africa, teaching children how to code through simple, fun games.
One peaceful morning, Jacob and Monica were sitting together on their favorite bench in the garden. Their hair was now streaked with gray. Their hands, though older, were still clasped tightly together.
They watched a group of children from the foundation playing on the lawn nearby, their laughter filling the air. Jacob let out a deep sigh of contentment. I’m full, he said. Monica smiled. Me too. He looked at her, his eyes soft. I used to be so sure that God had forgotten about me.
That I was being punished for something. But now… now I think, maybe He was just preparing me. Monica rested her head on his shoulder. Everything, she whispered, was leading us right here.
And this time, Jacob said, we aren’t wasting a single moment of it. Just then, little Amarachi ran up to them, her hands full of crayon drawings. Grandma! Grandpa! Look! Look what I made!
They took the papers from her and smiled. She had drawn a picture: a sketch of a woman kneeling in front of a man. Above the drawing, in big, bubbly letters, she had written: Love begins where pride ends.
Jacob looked at the drawing for a long time. Then he chuckled. She gets it. Monica kissed her granddaughter’s forehead. She comes from it.
As the sun began to set over their garden and a gentle evening breeze whispered through the trees, Monica closed her eyes, just feeling the moment. All of it. All in one lifetime. All part of one incredible love story that had started with an impossible question and ended with a dream she never thought could be real.
